The invention relates to the dispensing of a carbonated beverage into open containers.
The present invention arose during ongoing efforts by the inventor to improve carbonated beverage dispensing systems. In U.S. Pat. No. 5,603,363 entitled xe2x80x9cApparatus For Dispensing A Carbonated Beverage With Minimal Foamingxe2x80x9d, issuing on Feb. 18, 1997, and in U.S. Pat. No. 5,566,732 issuing on Oct. 22, 1996, the inventor discloses systems for dispensing carbonated beverage, such as beer or soda, into an open container. The system disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,603,363 discloses the bottom filling of carbonated beverage into an open container. U.S. Pat. No. 5,566,732 discloses the use of a bar code reader to read indicia on the open container when placed beneath the nozzle that indicates the volume of the open container in order to automate the dispensing procedure, and preferably various aspects of on site accounting and inventory procedures. In these systems, the carbonated beverage is dispensed from a nozzle that has an outlet port placed near the bottom of the open container, i.e. the open container is bottom filled. In addition to bottom filling, these systems control the dispensing pressure of the carbonated beverage as well as its temperature in order to minimize foaming. In the above incorporated U.S. patents, the dispensing pressure is controlled by maintaining the pressure of the carbonated beverage to be dispensed at atmospheric pressure. In particular, the carbonated beverage is held in a vented chamber prior to dispensing in order to maintain the pressure at or near atmospheric pressure. The carbonated beverage in the vented chamber is cooled by circulating chilled air around the chamber.
As discussed in the above incorporated patents, carbonated beverage often foams while being dispensed into the serving container using conventional tap filling dispensing systems. As a consequence, personnel operating the dispenser must fill the serving container until the level of foam reaches the brim and then wait for the foam to settle before adding additional carbonated beverage. In some instances, several iterations of this process must occur before the container is filled with liquid to the proper serving level. xe2x80x9cTopping Offxe2x80x9d necessitated by the foaming of the beverage prolongs the dispensing operation and impedes the ability to fully automate the dispensing of carbonated beverages. Nevertheless, many establishments have push button activated taps which automatically dispense measured quantities of carbonated beverage into different sized containers, such as glasses, mugs and pitchers. Normally, this automated equipment only partially fills the serving container and the user must still manually xe2x80x9ctop offxe2x80x9d the container after the foam from the automated step settles in order to dispense the proper serving quantity.
The system disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,603,363, which uses a vented chamber prior to dispensing the carbonated beverage in order to maintain the pressure in the chamber at or near atmospheric pressure, is particularly well-suited for large volume operations, such as sports arenas, stadiums or other such venues. However, in venues with lower serving volumes, carbonated beverage remaining in the vented chamber may lose some carbonation.
Also, in many applications, it is desirable to control the amount of foaming rather than simply minimize the amount of foaming. For example, when pouring beer, the presentation of the beer and the head in the open container affects the drinkability of the beer along with its serving temperature. This is also generally true of carbonated sort drinks.
A general object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus for dispensing carbonated beverages into a serving container in a manner which minimizes foaming of the beverage and permits rapid dispensing to occur under a system pressure.
Another object of the present invention is to provide such an apparatus which minimizes shrinkage due to wasted beverage during the dispensing operation.
These and other objectives are fulfilled by a dispenser that has a nozzle which is directly connected to a pressurized system. Carbonated fluid enters the system by opening the purge vent valve allowing fluid to enter the system thus releasing all air from the system. When the air is purged from the system, the system is ready to operate.
A serving container is placed under the nozzle and is moved up until the bottom of the serving container touches the electronic sensor. When the electronic sensor is activated, an air cylinder/electric motor drives a valve stem down that is connected to the valve member. The valve member has an O-ring attached to it. The O-ring is spaced at a distance y from the leading edge of the nozzle. In order to achieve minimal/controlled foaming and minimizing shrinkage, the system pressure must be reduced. The valve member travels a pressure reducing length y expanding the volume thus reducing the system pressure. A diffuser adds system restriction controlling carbonated beverage back-pressure. When the valve member travels a distance y, fluid starts to enter the serving container at a pouring angle theta. Pouring angle theta produces a conical shaped stream of carbonated beverage at a laminar rate thus minimizing excessive foaming. Carbonated beverages have large ranges of carbonation levels. Added control takes place when the valve member travels the pressure reducing length y plus the final opening length at varying velocities throughout the cycle.